Hello there,
Need some advice on this. My husband and I have been in our house two years now and have just ripped out old gas fire & 70's brick fireplace to replace with cast iron looky-likey electric stove in the recess of the chimney. Behind this we have wonderful old brickwork (1900 terraced house so it was expected) which we want to make a feature of. I've seen other topics on here saying to use PVA to simply seal the brickwork or some other "clear coat" stuff which sounds fine.
However, how thorough do we need to be with the removal off dust and soot that has built? Will we have to scrub down the bricks until our knuckles bleed and there is no trace of dust or will the sealant still work if we simply give it a vac & scrub to remove the vast majority of it? Also,is it absolutely necessary to repoint the old brickwork with lime mortar or if its solid can it just be left.
Responses would be GREATLY appreciated as we have no idea.
Thanks
Danni
Need some advice on this. My husband and I have been in our house two years now and have just ripped out old gas fire & 70's brick fireplace to replace with cast iron looky-likey electric stove in the recess of the chimney. Behind this we have wonderful old brickwork (1900 terraced house so it was expected) which we want to make a feature of. I've seen other topics on here saying to use PVA to simply seal the brickwork or some other "clear coat" stuff which sounds fine.
However, how thorough do we need to be with the removal off dust and soot that has built? Will we have to scrub down the bricks until our knuckles bleed and there is no trace of dust or will the sealant still work if we simply give it a vac & scrub to remove the vast majority of it? Also,is it absolutely necessary to repoint the old brickwork with lime mortar or if its solid can it just be left.
Responses would be GREATLY appreciated as we have no idea.
Thanks
Danni